


Rise of the Phoenix

by fandomsunlimited



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Backstory, F/F, Tattoos, kinda angsty but you know thats fine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-21
Updated: 2017-01-21
Packaged: 2018-09-19 01:32:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9411494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomsunlimited/pseuds/fandomsunlimited
Summary: Alex sees Maggie's tattoo for the first time and it leads to a conversation neither of them expected.





	

**Author's Note:**

> My friend group and I all headcanon that Maggie has a side rib tattoo of a phoenix, so I decided to write about the first time Alex sees it. Got a lot more angsty than I was anticipating but I'm happy with how it turned out.

Maggie Sawyer wasn’t shy, Alex knew this. The detective would always flirt with her at work, kiss her in public, and tease her around all her friends. So, no, Maggie wasn’t shy at all. Not about what she was confident about in any case. If she could prove someone wrong, make herself seem all-knowing, or make Alex squirm, she would do it in a heartbeat. But Maggie liked to hide a lot of who she was. She compensated for her insecurities with sarcastic comments and self-deprecating jokes. It got her a long way in life, seeing as it was easy for her to make others laugh, and to bring out the best in any given situation. But it was harder when she was trying to make jokes to avoid deep conversations. To avoid talking about her childhood. To avoid talking about where she came from, what she went through in a small-town community college, and what made her join the police force.

Alex was determined though. She knew Maggie was trying her hardest to open up. Of course she would let the detective tell her what she wanted on her owns terms, but she was trying to be as open as possible to it all, as supportive as possible. She knew that Maggie wanted to tell her about her past but that she just wasn’t quite ready yet. So Alex waited. She went along with Maggie’s jokes all while giving Sawyer little snippets of her own past, of her struggles and her triumphs. It was working, because sometimes Maggie would respond with a little “Oh, I totally know what you mean, I remember liking one of my best friend in freshman year. We were in science together and god was she beautiful…” It was a start at least.

The funny thing about Maggie opening up though, is that it came when Alex least expected it. It came so casually and left Alex so flustered (for many reasons) that her mind was reeling afterwards. The pair had just gotten home from a long day in the field. There was a nice gang of a half dozen aliens running around and committing petty thefts and just being rowdy. Kara had taken care of a couple, but the DEO and the NCPD had also offered a hand to help. It was a right pain in the ass to get them all detained (at the NCPD, the DEO didn’t need to be heavily involved for a couple of reckless teens) and before they knew it, it was eight in the evening and no one had eaten dinner yet. Maggie had suggested they go back to hers and order a pizza. Alex had agreed in a heartbeat, saying she’d meet her there in a half hour with a case of beer and a Marvel movie (Yes, they played “superhero” every day, that didn’t meant the pair didn’t like watching other people do the work sometimes). 

As promised, Agent Danvers was pulling off her motorcycle helmet twenty minutes later, sauntering up to Maggie’s apartment building and almost running up the stairs to her girlfriend’s third-floor condo. She pulled the six pack of beer out of the backpack she’d been wearing and knocked on the door, knowing full well it’d be unlocked but wanting to be polite regardless. She heard Maggie running towards the door as soon as she knocked, not even pausing as she swung the door open, a huge smile upon her face. 

“Hey.” Alex said casually, passing over the beer and slipping her coat off, hanging it up and tossing her boots on the shoes rack. Maggie wore the same black t-shirt and dark blue jeans she’d had on all day, her coat and shoes having been ditched as Alex’s had. 

“Hey.” Maggie replied, closing the door behind Alex and pulling her phone out. “So, I need a shower, but I figured we might as well order pizza before I get in so we don’t have to wait even longer, I’m starving.” Alex nodded, opening a beer for them both and taking a sip of her own, leaning against the kitchen counter as Maggie chatted away in the phone. The agent took the time to just watch Maggie, whose adorable mannerisms always came out, even if the person she was talking to couldn’t see her. She ordered a large pepperoni and bacon pie for them to share. “Should be here in like twenty minutes. I’ll be out by then, but if I’m not my wallet’s in my coat.”

“Mags, please, I can pay.” Alex said, laughing and stepping closer, kissing Maggie quickly before sidestepping her and throwing herself down on the worn grey couch, sighing at the relief it gave her legs. “Go shower, you stink.”

“Wow, that’s nice, thanks.” Maggie teased, winking as she walked past Alex, taking her shirt off with ease as she did. What Maggie didn’t anticipate was a gasp to come from Alex. She turned around, raising an eyebrow in question as she tossed the black garment into her bedroom. “What?” She asked, smirking slyly because she thought she knew. Alex had never seen her without a shirt on before, at least not below the shoulders. They’d not gotten there yet, and that was totally okay. But Maggie didn’t think Alex would react so much to seeing her torso.

“You have a tattoo.” Alex said, getting up and setting her beer down, making her way over to Maggie, hesitating in reaching forward to run her fingers across her girlfriend’s right side. “How come you didn’t tell me?”

“Oh.” Maggie laughed, realizing why Alex had gasped. “I don’t know, I forget it’s there most days. Never came up I guess… It’s a phoenix.” She added, grabbing Alex’s wary hand and bringing it to her side, where the tattoo covered her ribs. She watched with adoration as Alex moved sideways to get a better look, running soft fingertips over the colourful ink. It was a beautiful tattoo, a perfect mix of incredible line work and gorgeous reds and oranges. It was absolutely stunning, and really did suit Maggie perfectly. 

“What’s the meaning?” Alex asked, her voice almost a whisper as her analysis continued, her touch causing goosebumps to raise on Maggie’s torso as she slipped her hands under the bra strap to pull it down slightly to see the part of the phoenix that was missing. Her breath hitched then, because of three things: Alex’s hand flattening over the tattoo, the question she’d just been asked, and beautiful eyes meeting her own. “You don’t have to tell me…”

“No. I want to tell you I just… Um…” Maggie hesitated, bringing her hand to cover Alex’s and looking down. “I got it a while after I left Blue Springs. I never fit in there.” She started, swallowing hard at the reasons for her leaving.

“Maggie.” Alex said, even more softly that she’d asked the question, if that was possible. “Are you okay?”

“I… Yes. It’s just been a long time. And I’ve never really told anyone. And no one’s ever asked.” Maggie explained, lifting her head and catching Alex’s loving gaze again, which gave her the strength to continue. “Being gay in a small town is not easy. I’ve been out since my sophomore year of high school. That’s when the bullying started. I could handle it for the most part usually. Kids can be mean, but it’s because sometimes they don’t understand differences… And I get that.” 

“Mags I’m so sorry.” The taller woman chimed in, genuine sympathy in her eyes. 

“Thanks. Anyway when senior year came around I was ready to leave…” She continued, now toying with Alex’s belt buckle absentmindedly. “I didn’t though. I stayed for college. I got my bachelors in criminal justice in two and a half years at the community college back home. I’ve always wanted to be a detective, mostly to help LGBT youth. So I would hide away in the books and spent all my time focused on my schooling. I was so excited to leave after graduation. Ready to move to a big city and see the world. I got beat up pretty bad about a week after the January graduation ceremony... I was caught leaving a girl’s house after a hookup by some boys I went to high school with. They’re probably the most homophobic people I’ve ever met. Left me with a bruised collar bone, a concussion, and a lot of cuts. It was bad, and I knew I needed to leave as soon as I could. 

“I’d planned on staying for a month to gather my things you know? But I left three days after that. I had nothing. I didn’t tell my parents… They’re supportive of me being gay, don’t worry, but I didn’t want to put that burden on them and their reputation. So I just left with nothing… It took a lot of work and a lot of time. But eventually I was able to get my own place. I joined the police force in Central city a few months after I left, getting accepted into the academy pretty easily with my grades. When I was finally appointed the role of detective I got the tattoo. 

“It symbolizes my rise from the ashes. That breakthrough from those confines I’d felt in Blue Springs…” As soon as Maggie finished her story Alex’s arms were around her tightly, hands strong on her bare back as she broke down, reliving that pain for the first time in years. 

“I’m so proud of you.” Alex said when she pulled away, wiping away Maggie’s tears with the pads of her thumbs, holding her face gently. “I’m so proud of you. You’re incredibly strong you know that?” Maggie nodded, her throat tight from crying, words escaping her as she breathed heavily with the weight of her past, feeling the relief of keeping it all in for so long being lifted off her shoulders.

They stood there in silence for what seemed like hours, wrapped in each other’s arms, Alex’s hands lazily drawing circles on Maggie’s back, while Maggie’s hands were gently combing Alex’s short hair. They stood there long enough that they were startled by the door buzzer ringing through the apartment announcing the arrival of their pizza. Maggie sighed and peeled herself from Alex’s arms only for Alex to grab her face and kiss her gently.

“Go shower.” Alex said, leaning her forehead against Maggie’s. “I’ll get the pizza.” Maggie nodded and made her way towards the bathroom once more before turning around and catching Alex’s eye and she was pulling her own wallet out of her back pocket. 

“Thank you, Alex. For everything.” She said timidly before actually getting into the warm shower. Maggie spent as little time under the water as she could while still getting the sweat and grime off her skin. Knowing that the ever-beautiful Agent Danvers was waiting just outside the door she could see was enough to speed up the process, the girl finished with her shower in just over five minutes, sauntering out and drying herself off quickly before tousling her hair and pulling on the pair of sweatpants she’d brought it with her, complimenting them with an old hoodie she’d had for years. 

As suspected, Alex was curled up on the couch again, scrolling through her phone, the pizza box on the table with their two beers and the menu for Thor: The Dark World playing on the muted television. Alex looked up when the door opened and smiled, passing over Maggie’s beer and opening up the box. With that Maggie settled into the couch, leaning against Alex ever so slightly and pulling a blanket over them both, hitting play and unmuting the TV. That night was one Maggie never forgot, even years later, because it was the night she finally let her inhibitions go, and finally really let someone in. And she was forever grateful that it was Alex, because that was the night she fell in love with the woman she would one day marry.


End file.
